DeBeers competed in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) from 1985 until the organization stopped promoting in late 1990. He was billed as being from Cape Town, South Africa, though he bore no accent whatsoever.
During his stint in the AWA he feuded with "Big" Scott Hall and "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka in 1986, Sgt. Slaughter in 1988, briefly with Derrick Dukes in 1989, and jobber Jake Milliman throughout 1990.
DeBeers and Milliman competed in, quite possibly, one of the most infamous matches in the history of wrestling while in the AWA. In the company's dying months, the AWA created the Team Challenge Series to try to attract more viewers. One of the matches in the TCS pitted DeBeers and Milliman in the Great American Turkey Hunt, a match where the object was to be the first to pull an uncooked turkey off of a pole tied to one corner of the ring. DeBeers was the first to grab the turkey, although the referee had been knocked out. Milliman pulled a fast one and stole the turkey from DeBeers just before the referee got back up, and was awarded the victory. Also in the AWA in 1988, DeBeers was briefly managed by Diamond Dallas Page, the leader of the Diamond Exchange stable, and his Diamond Dolls. During that short time, he would try to force his opponent to leave on a stretcher.